News

Washington, D.C.—A pair of proposed rules has been introduced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), both of which are aimed at the prevention of foodborne illness. One requires a formal plan from foreign and domestic food facilities for protecting their products from foodborne illnesses. The other involves enforceable, science- and risk-based standards for the safe production and harvesting of fruits and vegetables.

University Place, WA—In the aftermath of the defeat of California’s Proposition 37, activists in the state of Washington are close to placing another genetically modified organism (GMO) labeling measure on a ballot. I-522, “The People’s Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act,” was submitted to state officials with 350,000 signatures from potential voters on January 3.

A victim of budget cuts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Microbiological Data Program, which since 2001 has analyzed samples of select fruits and vegetables for foodborne pathogens, closed down its operations at the beginning of 2013.

Every calendar quarter, public companies provide guidance to Wall Street to explain recent performance and project future results. In these quarterly telephone conference calls, investment analysts responsible for recommending stocks to their clients get to ask management questions to shed light on company strategy. While the “scripted” portions of these calls are interesting—where corporate executives read prepared remarks—the Q & A sessions that follow can reveal the most meaningful information. This was the case in the November 2012, fourth-quarter conference call hosted by Austin, TX-based Whole Foods Market.

Alexandria, Egypt--Lupus is an autoimmune disease that causes one’s immune system to attack healthy tissue. Lupus patients on traditional therapies often take corticosteroids and anti-inflammation drugs to relieve symptoms, but the condition has no cure. A group of researchers from the University of Alexandria believe, however, that one’s vitamin D status may have something to do with the disease’s treatment.